Tomorrow (Thursday) is the deadline for the Dart Charge customers to revalidate their payment cards following a change of service provider.

Account holders were given until August 31 to ensure their cards are validated so that the system can take automatic payments.

National Highways has warned that failure to pay on time or not revalidating cards could result in fines.

The payment and card verification deadline was temporarily extended due to delays in the service following a period when the Dart Charge website was down.

From Friday, July 28 until Sunday, July 30, customers were unable to access the website, and even after it came back online, issues persisted due to a high volume of people trying to log in.

As a result, long queues were reported both online and via phone, causing further delays in paying the tolls.

Following this maintenance period, customers continue to report a variety of issues with their accounts on Twitter.

Some experienced problems re-validating cards, while others found that their account balances were wiped, journeys were not recorded, and local resident permits were removed.

Customers are still facing issues despite the revalidation deadline coming into play from tomorrow.

@Whateve05897323 tweeted: “What’s going on? Re-validated my payment method a few weeks ago. Had at least two payments taken since then.

“Yesterday’s crossing payment has failed. There is money in my bank account. Re-validated payment again. 342 people ahead of me to speak to someone.”

@EmmaBrogen has also been facing issues: “I’m an account holder. I updated my payment method on 8th Aug and all was well.

“I haven't crossed in weeks. Why have I received this text, and now my account is suspended? There are no more crossings I should be paying for, yet it's attempting to take payment?”

@KimEdwards48 added: “I've been trying to contact @DartCharge for a month now, every single day and no response to emails, tweets, complaints, DM's, phone is a joke 114 in front of me

“My LRD has now run out, it was live when I first started to try and renew I've paid my monies and loaded my documents.”

Highways, the authority responsible for the Dart Charge system, expressed appreciation for the understanding of road users during this maintenance period.

The responsibility for vehicle identification, payment processing, and account management is being transferred to a new service provider called Conduent, while Emovis will continue to handle inquiries for Penalty Charge Notices.

A National Highways spokesperson acknowledged the service issues customers faced over the past few days and assured improvements have been implemented.

National Highways extended its apologies for the inconvenience caused by the necessary system updates and expressed hope that the improvements will enhance the overall Dart Charge system.

A National Highways spokesperson said: "The Dart Charge websites and customer contact centres are all operating.

“We apologise for the service issues users have faced over the last few days and have implemented service improvements.

“While customers may still experience short delays, the average online wait time is now less than 5 minutes.

"We have further extended payment deadlines to ensure everyone has sufficient time to pay the charge. Dart Charge account holders have until 31 August to update their card details on the website.

"Non-account holders who use the crossing between 27 July and 14 August have until the 15 August to pay the charge.

"We apologise again for the inconvenience which was due to essential system updates."